A surge in the number of students without up-to-date vaccination records has prompted a moratorium on related suspension notices from public health, says Lambton’s acting medical officer of health.
A surge in the number of students without up-to-date vaccination records has prompted a moratorium on related suspension notices from public health, Lambton’s acting medical officer of health says.
“Our main focus right now is just getting those students in our catchment area caught up,” Dr. Karalyn Dueck said.
In the 2019-20 school year, 2,600 students received notices for not having their vaccination records up to date with public health, she said. Doing so is required by the Immunization of School Pupils Act for protection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (chickenpox) and meningococcal disease.
Exemptions are available for medical, conscience and religious reasons, she noted.
Often students are vaccinated but parents or guardians haven’t updated their information yet with public health, officials have said.
In 2019-20, 98 students were suspended who received warnings but didn’t update their records before the deadline. The number of suspensions was down substantially from the 323 suspended a year earlier.
“Right now, we have 6,589 students who will receive reminder letters that they need to catch up or submit their records of immunization to Lambton public health for this 2022-2023 school year,” Dueck said.
The school immunization program paused during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
“There’s a lot of catching up to do.”
As to why that number has more than doubled in three years, Dueck said it’s hard to say, noting “everything was closed and the students just didn’t have as much of an opportunity.”
The focus then was COVID-19, she said.
“Now we can get into a routine with childhood immunizations again,” she said, adding “it’s one of the most effective ways to reduce outbreaks and the spread of these serious illnesses.”
The plan is to pause suspensions for non-compliance just for this school year, though that pause could be lifted if there’s an outbreak, she said.
Another 2,790 letters are also being sent to students eligible for meningococcal conjugate, hepatitis b, and human papillomavirus vaccines, typically provided in Grade 7, Dueck said.
Eligibility to get those vaccines free normally continues until Grade 12, public health officials said, noting eligibility for HPV has been extended to also include females born in 2002 and males in 2004.
“If they haven’t gotten them by a certain age, they will no longer be able to get them for free, so that’s why they are being included in the reminders,” said Dueck, noting the combined total for reminders is now 9,379 letters .
High school students will get their letters this month, she said. Letters will be mailed to elementary school students in the spring.
As for the approaches in other health unit regions, Dueck said “we’re really focused on our own catchment area, so I can only comment on our own approach.”
To check immunization records, parents can visit Immunization Connect Ontario at lph.icon.ehealthontario.caofficials said.
For more information, visit getthevaccine.caor call public health’s vaccine call center at 226-254-8222, Dueck said.
Copies or photos of immunization records can be sent to [email protected], or mailed or dropped off at 160 Exmouth St., Point Edward, Ont., N7T 7Z6, officials said.